Method of soft pad preparation to reduce removal rate ramp-up effect and to stabilize defect rate

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for pre-conditioning a new soft polishing pad and processing a substrate on a soft polishing pad is described. The method includes coupling a soft polishing pad to a platen, contacting the processing surface of the soft polishing pad with a conditioning disk, applying a pressure conditioning disk, removing the conditioning disk from contact with the processing surface of the soft polishing pad, and contacting a first substrate with the processing surface of the soft polishing pad to perform a polishing process on the first substrate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/968,830 (Attorney Docket No. 11053L), filed Aug. 29, 2007,which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to polishing asubstrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, with a soft polishing pad.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the fabrication of integrated circuits and other electronic deviceson substrates, multiple layers of conductive, semiconductive, anddielectric materials are deposited on or removed from a feature side,i.e., a deposit receiving surface, of a substrate. As layers ofmaterials are sequentially deposited and removed, the feature side ofthe substrate may become non-planar and require planarization and/orpolishing. Planarization and polishing are procedures where previouslydeposited material is removed from the feature side of the substrate toform a generally even, planar or level surface. The procedures areuseful in removing undesired surface topography and surface defects,such as rough surfaces, agglomerated materials, crystal lattice damage,and scratches. The procedures are also useful in forming features on asubstrate by removing excess deposited material used to fill thefeatures and to provide an even or level surface for subsequentdeposition and processing.

Chemical mechanical polishing is one process commonly used in themanufacture of high-density integrated circuits to planarize or polish alayer of material deposited on a semiconductor wafer by moving thefeature side of the substrate in contact with a soft polishing pad whilein the presence of a polishing fluid. Material is removed from thefeature side of the substrate that is in contact with the polishingsurface through a combination of chemical and mechanical activity.

Soft polishing pads are commonly used as the final removal step in thecopper CMP damascene process. The useful lifetime of soft pads istypically low, and the initial performance for film removal rate of anew pad is low and requires a pre-conditioning process in order to rampup and stabilize the removal rate. This pre-conditioning process istime-consuming, which affects the throughput of the process. Further,the conventional pre-conditioning process may decrease the usablelifetime of the polishing pad.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved pad break-inmethod that optimizes the polishing surface of a new soft polishing padwhile minimizing pre-conditioning time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments described herein generally provide a method and apparatusfor pre-conditioning a new soft polishing pad. In some embodiments, amethod and apparatus for processing a substrate on a soft polishing padis described.

In one embodiment, a method for polishing a substrate is described. Themethod includes conditioning a processing surface of a soft polishingpad by rotating the soft polishing pad a first direction whilecontacting the soft polishing pad with a rotating diamond conditioningdisk rotating a second direction, applying a pressure of about 1pound-force to about 4 pound-force to the rotating diamond conditioningdisk, and removing the diamond conditioning disk from contact with therotating processing surface of the soft polishing pad. The method alsoincludes contacting a first substrate with the rotating processingsurface of the soft polishing pad to perform a polishing process on thefirst substrate, removing the first substrate from the rotatingprocessing surface of the soft polishing pad, conditioning the rotatingprocessing surface of the soft polishing pad with a brush-typeconditioning element rotating in the second direction, and contacting asecond substrate with the rotating processing surface of the softpolishing pad to perform a polishing process on the second substrate.

In another embodiment, a method for conditioning a soft polishing padprior to polishing a substrate is described. The method includescoupling a soft polishing pad to a platen, the soft polishing pad havinga contact angle of less than about 80°, rotating the platen in a firstdirection at a first speed, providing a pressure applied to aconditioning disk toward the soft polishing pad while simultaneouslyrotating the conditioning disk a second direction at a second speed, andapplying a fluid to the soft polishing pad.

In another embodiment, a method for processing a substrate using a softpolishing pad is described. The method includes coupling a new, unusedsoft polishing pad to a platen, providing rotational movement to theplaten, placing a rotating conditioning disk in contact with thepolishing material at a downforce of about 1 pound-force to about 4pound-force, removing the rotating conditioning disk from contact withthe soft polishing pad, and then contacting a substrate with the softpolishing pad to perform a polishing process on the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentinvention can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a processing system.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of one embodiment of a processingstation.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a break-in method.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a comparison of two new soft pads.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing defect levels using methods described herein.

FIG. 6 shows the effect of a high pressure rinse from a spray bar ondefect levels.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing removal rate degradation at or near the padlifetime.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in oneembodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments withoutspecific recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a processing system 100 having a processingmodule 105 that is suitable for electrochemical mechanical polishing andchemical mechanical polishing. The processing module 105 includes afirst processing station 102, a second processing station 103, and athird processing station 106 disposed in an environmentally controlledenclosure 188. Any of the processing stations 102, 103, 106 may performa planarizing or polishing process to remove material from a featureside of a substrate to form a planar surface on the feature side. Theprocessing module 105 may be part of a processing system, such as, forexample REFLEXION®, REFLEXION® LK, REFLEXION® LK ECMPTM, MIRRA MESA®polishing systems available from Applied Materials, Inc., located inSanta Clara, Calif., although other polishing systems may be utilized.Other polishing modules, including those that use other types ofprocessing pads, belts, planarizing webs, or a combination thereof, andthose that move a substrate relative to a polishing surface in arotational, linear or other planar motion may also be adapted to benefitfrom embodiments described herein.

For example, the first processing station 102 may be configured toperform an electrochemical mechanical planarization (ECMP) process, thesecond processing station 103 may perform a second ECMP process, and thethird processing station 106 may perform a conventional chemicalmechanical polishing (CMP) process. It is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to this configuration and that any or all ofthe stations 102, 103, and 106 may be adapted to use a CMP process toremove various layers deposited on the substrate. Alternatively, theprocessing module 105 may include two stations that are adapted toperform a CMP process while another station may perform an ECMP process.In one embodiment of a process, a substrate having feature definitionsformed therein and filled with a barrier layer and then a conductivematerial disposed over the barrier layer may have the conductivematerial removed. The removal can be in two steps in the first andsecond processing stations 102, 103, by an ECMP process, with thebarrier layer processed in the third station 106 by a conventional CMPprocess to form a planarized surface on the substrate.

The embodiment described in system 100 includes a base 108 that supportsthe processing stations 102, 103 and 106, a transfer station 110, and acarousel 112. A plurality of conditioning devices 182 are shown coupledto the base 108 and are movable in the direction indicated by arrow 109in order to selectively place the conditioning device 182 over each ofthe processing stations 102, 103, and 106. The transfer station 110generally facilitates transfer of substrates 114 to and from the system100 via a loading robot 116. The loading robot 116 typically transferssubstrates 114 between the transfer station 110 and an interface 120that may include a cleaning module 122, a metrology device 104 and oneor more substrate storage cassettes 118.

The transfer station 110 comprises an input buffer station 124, anoutput buffer station 126, a transfer robot 132, and a load cup assembly128. The loading robot 116 places the substrate 114 onto the inputbuffer station 124. The transfer robot 132 has two gripper assemblies,each having pneumatic gripper fingers that hold the substrate 114 by thesubstrate's edge. The transfer robot 132 lifts the substrate 114 fromthe input buffer station 124 and rotates the gripper and substrate 114to position the substrate 114 over the load cup assembly 128, and thenplaces the substrate 114 down onto the load cup assembly 128.

The carousel 112 supports a plurality of carrier heads 190, each ofwhich retains one substrate 114 during processing. The carousel 112moves the carrier heads 190 between the transfer station 110 andprocessing stations 102, 103 and 106. The carousel 112 is centrallydisposed on the base 108 and includes a plurality of arms 138. Each arm138 supports one of the carrier heads 190. Two of the arms 138 depictedin FIG. 1 are shown in phantom so that the transfer station 110 and aprocessing surface 125 of the processing station 106 may be seen. Thecarousel 112 is indexable such that the carrier head 190 may be movedbetween processing stations 102, 103, 106 and the transfer station 110in a sequence defined by the user.

The carrier head 190 retains the substrate 114 while the substrate 114is disposed in the processing stations 102, 103, 106, which allows thesubstrate 114 to be sequentially processed by moving the substratebetween stations while being retained in the same carrier head 190.

To facilitate control of the processing system 100 and processesperformed thereon, a controller 140 comprising a central processing unit(CPU) 142, memory 144 and support circuits 146 is connected to thepolishing system 100. The CPU 142 may be one of any form of computerprocessor that can be used in an industrial setting for controllingpressures and various drives disposed on the system 100. The memory 144is connected to the CPU 142. The memory 144, or computer-readablemedium, may be one or more of readily available memory such as randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, orany other form of digital storage, local or remote. The support circuits146 are connected to the CPU 142 for supporting the processor in aconventional manner. These circuits include cache, power supplies, clockcircuits, input/output circuitry, subsystems, and the like.

Power to operate the processing system 100 and/or the controller 140 isprovided by a power supply 150. Illustratively, the power supply 150 isshown connected to multiple components of the polishing system 100,including the transfer station 110, the interface 120, the loading robot116 and the controller 140.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of one embodiment of a processingstation 106 that is configured to perform a conventional CMP process. Aconditioning device 182 and a spray bar 255 are shown positioned overthe processing surface 125 of a soft polishing pad 226. The spray bar255 includes a plurality of nozzles 258 adapted to provide fluids to atleast a portion of the radius of the soft polishing pad 226. Adescription of a spray bar 255 may be found in U.S. Patent publicationNo. 2003/0027505, which published Feb. 6, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,210,which issued Sep. 6, 2005, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,933, which issuedAugust 8, 2006, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

In one embodiment, the soft polishing pad 226 is new or unused, i.e. nosubstrates have been polished or contacted the processing surface 125 ofthe soft polishing pad 226. The soft polishing pad 226 includes at leastan upper surface comprised of a polishing material 228 having aplurality of microscopic pore structures and is coupled to a platen 230that is rotationally mounted on the base 108. The soft polishing pad 226may be comprised of other layers, such as sub pads, compliant layers,stiffening layers, and adhesives, between the polishing material 228 andthe platen 230. The soft polishing pad 226 may be removably disposed onan upper surface of the platen 230 by binders, such as pressuresensitive adhesives or fasteners, which are configured to facilitatestatic placement and replacement of the soft polishing pad 226.

The spray bar 255 is rotatably coupled to the base 108 about acenterline A and provides a fluid 260 that is directed toward theprocessing surface 125. The fluid 260 may be a chemical solution, acleaning solution, or a combination thereof. For example, the fluid 260may be an abrasive containing or abrasive free polishing compoundadapted to aid in removal of material from the feature side of thesubstrate. Reductants and oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide mayalso be added to the fluid 260. Alternatively, the fluid 260 may be arinsing agent, such as deionized water (DIW), that is used as a rinse orflush to remove polishing byproducts from the polishing material 228. Inan alternative, the fluid 260 may be used to facilitate conditioning ofthe polishing surface 125 to open the microscopic pore structures of theprocessing surface 125.

The conditioning device 182 generally includes a conditioner carrier 212coupled to the head assembly 202, which is coupled to a support member204 by an arm 206. The support member 204 is disposed through the base108 of the processing station 106. Bearings are provided between thebase 108 and the support member 204 to facilitate rotation of thesupport member 204 about a centerline B relative to the base 108. Anactuator (not shown) may be coupled between the base 108 and the supportmember 204 to control the rotational orientation of the support member204 about the centerline B and laterally position the head assembly 202relative to the processing station 106. The support member 204 may housedrive components to selectively rotate the conditioning element 208relative to the processing pad 226 about a centerline C. The supportmember 204 may also provide fluid conduits to control the verticalposition of one of the conditioner carrier 212 or the head assembly 202.

A conditioning element 208 is coupled to the bottom surface of theconditioner carrier 212. The conditioner carrier 212 is coupled to thehead assembly 202 and may be selectively pressed against the platen 230while rotating about centerline C to condition the polishing material228. Likewise, the platen 230 with the soft polishing pad 226 thereonrotates relative to the base 108 about a centerline D. The conditioningelement 208 may be an abrasive disc, such as a diamond or ceramicmaterial, both being configured to abrade and enhance the polishingmaterial 228. Alternatively, the conditioning element 208 may be abrush-type conditioning disk, such as a disk having nylon bristles. Theconditioning element 208 is adapted to be easily replaced to provide anew or different disk as desired by the user.

In one embodiment, the soft polishing pad 226 is a soft, compliant padmaterial, such as polymer based pad materials typically utilized in CMP.The polymer material may be a polyurethane, a polycarbonate,fluoropolymers, PTFE, PTFA, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), or combinationsthereof. The pad material may further comprise open or closed cellfoamed polymers, elastomers, felt, impregnated felt, plastics, and likematerials compatible with the processing chemistries. In anotherembodiment, the pad material is a felt material impregnated with aporous coating.

In one embodiment, the soft polishing pad 226 in a new or unusedcondition includes a thickness between about 0.38 mm to about 1.15 mm,for example about 0.77 mm and a density between about 0.25 g/cm³ toabout 0.8 g/cm³, for example about 0.52 g/cm³. The soft polishing pad226 in a new or unused condition also includes a compressibility betweenabout 7% to about 21%, for example about 14% and an elasticity betweenabout 75% to about 100%, for example about 92%. The soft polishing pad226 in a new or unused condition also includes a tensile modulus at 100%elongation (100% modulus) between about 4 megapascals (MPa) and about 12MPa, for example about 8.3 MPa and may exhibit a hardness between about40 Shore A and about 80 Shore A. In one example, the hardness is betweenabout 68 Shore A and 74 Shore A, such as about 70 Shore A. In anotherexample, the hardness of the soft polishing pad 226 is about 63 Shore A.

The upper surface of the soft polishing pad 226 includes a plurality ofmicroscopic pore structures that, when in a new or unused condition, arenot fully and/or evenly open. In one embodiment, the soft polishing pad226 in a new or unused condition includes an average pore size betweenabout 20 microns (μm) to about 60 μm, for example, about 40 μm and apore rate or porosity between about 10% to about 40%, for example about20%. The upper surface of the soft polishing pad 226 in a new or unusedcondition also includes a nap thickness of between about 0.2 mm andabout 1 mm, for example about 0.58 mm. Additionally, the soft polishingpad 226 includes an enhanced hydrophilicity. In one embodiment, theupper surface of the soft polishing pad 226 in a new or unused conditionincludes an enhanced wetability, having a contact angle less than about80°, such as between about 35° and about 46°, for example about 38.2°.

Generally, the soft polishing pad 226 comprise a processing surface 125which includes microscopic pore structures as described above. The porestructures effect material removal from the feature side of thesubstrate. Attributes such as polishing compound retention, polishing orremoval activity, and material and fluid transportation affect theremoval rate. In order to facilitate optimal removal of material fromthe substrate, these microscopic pores must be fully and evenly open toprovide a relatively high and stable removal rate. These porestructures, when open, facilitate removal by enhancing pad surfacewetability, maintaining pad surface roughness, and dispersing polishingcompounds, such as, for example, abrasive particles supplied from thepolishing compound.

When a new soft polishing pad is installed on the platen, the processingsurface is clean, but the pores may not be fully open. For example, theprocessing surface may be embossed and/or comprise a thin layer or filmthat may partially or fully cover the pores. The embossment or film maycause portions of the processing surface to lay over and cover the poresand, until removed, block at least a portion of the pores, resulting innon-uniform surface roughness and/or low pad surface wetability.Although the processing surface of the soft polishing pad is nominal, apre-conditioning process and/or a polishing process may commence usingthe new pad. In one method, the new soft polishing pad may bepre-conditioned with a brush-type conditioning device, which may notprovide enough roughness to substantially open the pores and optimizethe processing surface. In another method, the new soft polishing padmay be put into service by performing a polishing process on actual ordummy substrates without pre-conditioning, and the pad may beconditioned concurrently with the polishing process. In any of thesemethods, the pores disposed in the processing surface of the pad willeventually open and the processing surface will optimize over time and anumber of substrates, as determined by a stabilized average removalrate.

In order to promote a faster stabilization in the average removal rate,a method is described herein where a pad conditioning method isimplemented prior to processing substrates using a rough conditioningelement. The method facilitates increased average removal rate andpromotes stabilization of the average removal rate after a lesser numberof substrates processed. The method also increases throughput by theenhanced average removal rate stabilization.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of a break-in method 300.In the exemplary operation, step 310 comprises providing a new or unusedsoft polishing pad to a platen. In one embodiment, a soft polishing pad,such as soft polishing pad 226, is coupled to the platen 230 (FIG. 2) bya binder. The soft polishing pad 226 may be any polymer pad as describedherein. At 320, the soft polishing pad 226 coupled to the platen 230 androtated in a first direction at a first speed. At 330, a conditioningelement is rotated in a second direction at a second speed relative tothe rotation of the platen 230. The second direction may be the same ordifferent than the first direction such that the pad 226 andconditioning element 208 are rotating in opposing directions. The secondspeed may be the same as the first speed, or the first and second speedsmay be different. At 340, the conditioning element 208 is controllablyurged toward the rotating platen 230 and pad 226.

In one embodiment, the conditioning element 208 includes a rough contactsurface, such as a contact surface comprising a diamond material. Theconditioning element 208 may be a disk or element as is typically usedto condition hard polyurethane polishing pads. Use of a roughconditioning element to condition a soft polishing pad may not beperformed due to concerns regarding destruction of the pad surface bythe rough conditioning element. A brush, such as a nylon brush with softbristles can be used on a soft polishing pad for a determined amount oftime. However, any rough conditioning element may be used, such asconditioning elements having embedded diamonds or ceramic particles, ordiamond particles, polycrystalline diamonds, diamond matrices, orcombinations thereof. A suitable diamond disk is described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/775,533, filed Jul. 10, 2007, which isincorporated by reference herein.

In one embodiment, the platen 230 may be rotated in the first directionat a first speed, such as between about 40 RPM to about 130 RPM, forexample about 50 RPM to about 75 RPM. The conditioning element may berotated in the second direction at a second speed, such as about 60 RPMto about 120 RPM, for example about 90 RPM to about 110 RPM. The seconddirection may be the same direction as the first direction of theplaten, or the second direction may be a rotational direction oppositethe rotational direction of the platen. Step 340 includes applyingpressure or down force to the conditioning element. A downward pressurein a range between about 0.1 lbf (pound-force) to about 10 lbf, forexample about 0.5 lbf to about 8 lbf, such as between about 1.0 lbf toabout 3 lbf may be applied to the head assembly 202 (FIG. 2) having theconditioning element coupled thereto.

An optional step 350 provides applying a rinse from the spray bar 255 tothe soft polishing pad, which may be a cleaning fluid, such as deionizedwater and/or a diluted chemical solution comprising complexing agentsconfigured to avoid metal accumulation and contamination on the pad. Therinse may be applied at a pressure between about 25 psi to about 90 psi,for example about 40 psi to about 60 psi. After a period of time, whileperforming steps 310-340, and optionally, step 350, the pore structuresmay be optimized and a polishing process may commence at step 360 byproviding a substrate and contacting the polishing surface with thesubstrate. The conditioning element 208, such as a diamond disk, may beused during steps 310-340, and optionally, step 350. As an option, theconditioning element 208 may be replaced with a brush-type conditioningelement at 360. A suitable brush-type conditioning element is describedin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/734,063, filed Apr. 11, 2007,which is incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, a first conditioning process as described above atsteps 310-340, and optionally, step 350, to perform a break-in orpre-conditioning process is performed on the processing surface 125 ofthe soft polishing pad. In a typical polishing process at 360, asubstrate is coupled to a carrier head 190 (FIG. 1) adapted tocontrollably urge the feature side of the substrate (not shown) againstthe processing surface 125. The substrate, retained in the carrier head190 (FIG. 1) is typically rotated relative to the rotating platen 230and a down force, such as between about 0.6 psi and about 1.0 psi for alow-down force polishing process, is applied to the substrate.

In an embodiment, a second conditioning process to maintain or refreshthe processing surface 125 of the pad 226 may additionally be performedsimultaneously, or at user defined intervals, at or during the processat step 360. The second conditioning process includes rotating andcontrollably urging the conditioning element 208 relative to the softpolishing pad 226 to condition and clean the processing surface 125 ofthe soft polishing pad 226. The second conditioning process may be usedex-situ, which is conditioning when a substrate polishing process is notoccurring, such as before or after a substrate is being polished. Thesecond conditioning process cleans and frees the pore structures ofpolishing byproducts, such as previously removed material, spentportions of the polishing compound, and weakened portions of theprocessing surface 125 that may have clogged a portion of the pores.

The second conditioning process helps to optimize the pore structuresand also maintain the pore structures to facilitate removal and iscontinued or repeated as needed to maintain an optimal processingsurface 125 and thus a more stable removal rate. A high pressure rinseas described above at 350 may be performed before, during, or after thesecond conditioning process.

Diamond conditioning elements to perform the pre-conditioning processare not used on soft pads due to fear of destruction of the pad surfaceby the rough disk surface. The processing surface 125 of the newpolishing pad 226 may be modified by the first conditioning methoddescribed above to a roughness that may be equal to a processing surfaceobtained by extensive conditioning using a brush-type conditioningelement and/or with the use of dummy wafers. While not necessary, use ofdummy wafers to achieve a targeted removal rate may be used with thefirst conditioning process. However, the number of dummy wafers andslurry consumption may be reduced, which lessens cost of ownership,time, and other factors.

FIG. 4 is a graph 400 showing a comparison of a pre-conditioning processof two new soft pads. Curve 410 represents a conventional brush-typeconditioning regime on a soft polishing pad and curve 420 represents apre-conditioning process using a diamond conditioner. Nodes 430 and 440represent an initial qualification of each pad. The parenthetical notedas 430 indicates the minimalization of dummy wafers and time to reachthe initial qualification.

FIG. 5 is a graph 500 showing a diamond disk pre-condition as describedabove as the first conditioning process followed by a secondconditioning process with ex-situ brush conditioning. Points 510represent substrate defects greater than 0.18 μm and points 520represent substrate defects greater than 0.24 μm. The graph 500demonstrates low defect counts during the initial pad lifetime with thepre-condition process using a diamond conditioning element and ex-situbrush conditioning during a polishing process.

FIG. 6 is a graph 600 showing the effect of a high pressure rinse from aspray bar on defect counts. Increasing the high pressure rinse to cleanthe pad surface following substrate processing and during ex-situ brushconditioning is shown to lower the overall defect level. A defect countat bar “A” was realized at a flow rate of about 3.7 μlpm, and a lowerdefect count at bar “B” was realized at a flow rate of about 5 lpm. Alower defect rate was realized with a flow rate of about 9 lpm, as shownin bar “C”.

FIG. 7 is a graph 700 showing a decline in removal rate over time usinga soft polishing pad that has been pre-conditioned and remediallyconditioned using ex-situ brush conditioning according to the methodsdescribed above. Symbol “A” represents dielectric removal, symbol “B”represents oxide removal, and symbol “C” represents copper removal.After approximately 300 wafers, the removal rate begins to drop. Theremoval rate may drop below specification levels at approximately 500wafers and need to be replaced, which may be similar to other soft padlifetimes. However, the use of diamond disk pre-conditioning accordingto the method described above realizes a quicker initial removal rate,which saves time and minimizes cost of ownership.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A method for polishing a substrate, comprising: conditioning aprocessing surface of a soft polishing pad by rotating the softpolishing pad a first direction while contacting the soft polishing padwith a rotating diamond conditioning disk rotating a second direction;applying a pressure of about 1 pound-force to about 4 pound-force to therotating diamond conditioning disk; removing the diamond conditioningdisk from contact with the rotating processing surface of the softpolishing pad; contacting a first substrate with the rotating processingsurface of the soft polishing pad to perform a polishing process on thefirst substrate; removing the first substrate from the rotatingprocessing surface of the soft polishing pad; conditioning the rotatingprocessing surface of the soft polishing pad with a brush-typeconditioning element rotating in the second direction; and contacting asecond substrate with the rotating processing surface of the softpolishing pad to perform a polishing process on the second substrate. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: rinsing the soft polishingpad prior to contacting the second substrate with the soft polishingpad.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first direction and thesecond direction are different.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thesoft polishing pad includes a hydrophilic processing surface having acontact angle less than about 80°.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thesoft polishing pad is rotated in the first direction at about 40 RPM toabout 130 RPM.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the soft polishing padis rotated in the first direction at about 50 RPM to about 75 RPM. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the conditioning disk is rotated in thesecond direction at about 60 RPM to about 120 RPM.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein rotating the conditioning disk the second directionincludes rotation at a second speed of about 90 RPM to about 110 RPM. 9.The method of claim 2, wherein the rinse is provided at a pressure ofabout 25 psi to about 90 psi.
 10. The method of claim 2, wherein therinse is provided at a pressure of about 40 psi to about 60 psi.
 11. Amethod for conditioning a soft polishing pad prior to polishing asubstrate, comprising: coupling a soft polishing pad to a platen, thesoft polishing pad having a contact angle of less than about 80°;rotating the platen in a first direction at a first speed; providing apressure applied to a conditioning disk toward the soft polishing padwhile simultaneously rotating the conditioning disk a second directionat a second speed; and applying a fluid to the soft polishing pad. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein the conditioning disk comprises adiamond material.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first speed isabout 50 RPM to about 75 RPM.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein thesecond speed is about 90 RPM to about 110 RPM.
 15. The method of claim11, wherein the pressure is about 1 pound-force to about 4 pound-force.16. The method of claim 11, wherein the fluid is deionized water at apressure of about 40 psi to about 60 psi.
 17. A method for processing asubstrate with a soft polishing pad, sequentially comprising: coupling anew, unused soft polishing pad to a platen; providing rotationalmovement to the platen; placing a rotating conditioning disk in contactwith the polishing material at a downforce of about 1 pound-force toabout 4 pound-force; removing the rotating conditioning disk fromcontact with the soft polishing pad; and then contacting a substratewith the soft polishing pad to perform a polishing process on thesubstrate.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the soft polishing padincludes a contact angle of less than about 80°.
 19. The method of claim17, wherein the soft polishing pad includes a contact angle of betweenabout 35° to about 46°.
 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:contacting the soft polishing pad with a brush-type conditioner afterthe polishing process.